Tuesday, 30 October 2007

View from my window

I moved in almost a month ago and promised some of you to show pictures from my window.Here you are. I live on a fourth floor with no lift (elevator) in the old part of town. It's a duplex apartment with an inside staircase leading to my bedroom and a terrace on the fifth floor. This is the view you get from there: a scruffy mess of rooftops and chimneys, a hectic mix of old (churches and towers) and new (tv antennas and satellite dishes). Not that pretty, but quite fascinating...J'ai emménagé il y a presque un mois et j'avais promis à certains d'entre vous de vous montrer la vue depuis mes mes fenêtres. Voilà ! Je vis au 4ème sans ascenseur dans la vieille ville. C'est un petit appartement en duplex avec un escalier intérieur conduisant à ma chambre et à la terrasse. Voilà la vue qu'on en a le matin (lumière d'orage) : un invraisemblable fouillis de toits et de cheminées, mélange cacophonique d'ancien (les multiples tours et clochers) et de récent (les paraboles et antennes télé).Pas vraiment joli, mais assez fascinant...

To the north, we look onto the plane trees of Pignotte square. The trees are huge and so close that when the cold mistral wind blows hard (like it does tonight) the branches clang and bang against the roof and gutter.

Looking to the north-west, you get fantastic views over the Popes' Palace, here today late afternoon, when the setting sun hits the palace sideways. I would love to do a series of images taken at different times of day, just like Monet did with the façade of the cathedral of Chartres...

And when the night sets in, pink clouds hang above the sea of roofs....

And because this post will be all about me (because I'm worth it????), I shall also respond to Sally of Sydney Daily Photo who tagged me (well, who was first to tag me, because others did it too afterwards). I'm supposed to tell eight random facts about myself, so here goes:1. I once flew over Paris in an Army helicopter with the then French Defence Minister

2. I tend to do the fun and easy things first and keep the boring ones for last3. I have twins (boy and girl)4. I had my first white hair at the age of 23

5. I have never been drunk6. I love the French goûter (afternoon snack) of chocolate and fresh baguette7. I am very good at reading maps - I can even fold them back8. I can assemble an Ikea piece of furniture on my own and am very good with a jig saw

And now I'm supposed to tag another eight fellow bloggers to tell us eight random facts about themselves. While I appreciate the fun aspect of the game I have already said before (in Sydney Daily Snap) how I loathe chain messages. Besides, because the tagging has already been quite extensive in our blogging community, I am afraid I'll never find eight fresh names. Therefore I shall not nominate anyone in particular but if you would like to take up the challengle of telling us eight random facts about yourself, by all means please mention it in the comments below and we'll be delighted to come and read you. Have a good week!

I don't know if you still miss Sydney - probably "yes", but to have the chance to have a duplex flat within the walls of Avignon must at least be a nice compensation! Thanks for showing - I was one of the "demanders"! Thanks also for telling us something more about YOU! Maybe one day, you will give us some more details about some of your exiting experiences!

Nathalie, So HERE you are! I've missed you during your move. Gerald had you on a list of newish blogs.I love seeing the views from your window. Really fabulous photos. And I must compliment you on yesterday's brilliant shot. Did you wait for someone to come along or happen upon it and capture it. Either way, it's a brilliant shot. I always love your photos.-KimSeattle Daily Photo

I love the close up of the roof tiles - in Australia they're called "Marseilles tiles", for obvious reasons. And Sydney's roofs used to be almost exclusively red terracotta - not any more however. Visitors used to comment when they flew in, as late as the 1970s, on the preponderance of red terracotta.

My house has these tiles. They're hard to replace if your roof needs re-doing; even if you can get an approximate colour, terracotta is quite rarely used now.

Gorgeous pics as usual. I am glad you've found somewhere right in the cenre of the action. You haven't gone bonkers from the mistral yet?

Fascinating, Nathalie. Probably the first thing I fell in love with in France were the roofscapes. Yours are just beautiful. And thanks too for the random facts, as interesting as I knew they would be!

Neat to see your new view from home - it's quite different from your Sydney. My kids would think we had monsters outside the windows with that much clanging! I like your random facts - never been drunk?! You are a good girl!

Feels like a good spot you've found. I particularly like the skyline with the Pope's place. The light looks very nice at this time of year. Agree with you about the tagging, but thanks for the insight - I never remember being drunk either ;)

Thank you for sharing your window views Nathalie. I love the soft light and the long view to the cathedral. I'm intrigued by the first comment about the Army helicopter. I'm imagining all sorts of things ...

After six years in Australia and five years of city life in Avignon I moved to the countryside near the small village of Beaumes-de-Venise. Once dedicated to street photography my blog has since taken a more rural note but the beautiful region of Provence is an constant source of inspiration.